36 Facts About Eddie MacCabe

Edward William Joseph MacCabe was a Canadian sports journalist and writer.

Eddie MacCabe began in journalism with the Ottawa Journal in 1946, briefly wrote for the Montreal Star from 1951 and 1952, then returned to the Ottawa Journal as a columnist and its sports editor until 1977.

Eddie MacCabe later served as the sports editor at the Ottawa Citizen from 1977 to 1985.

Eddie MacCabe regularly reported on the Ottawa Rough Riders and covered the Grey Cup championship annually from 1947 onward.

Eddie MacCabe was friends with the people he wrote about but could be ruthless when necessary, and relied on the human touch in his writings.

Eddie MacCabe wrote history books for the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club and the Canada Games, and a biography of football quarterback Russ Jackson.

Eddie MacCabe was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1985, and the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame in 1994.

Edward William Joseph Eddie MacCabe was born in Toronto, Ontario, on January 15,1927, into a family with Irish heritage.

Eddie MacCabe was the son of Joseph MacCabe and Winnifred Flynn, and moved to Ottawa at age nine.

Eddie MacCabe grew up in the Westboro neighbourhood, and his father worked as a typesetter for the Ottawa Journal and handled sports wagers.

Eddie MacCabe served in the Royal Canadian Air Force, then later attended St Patrick's College.

Eddie MacCabe began writing for the Ottawa Journal in June 1946, briefly worked for the Montreal Star from 1951 and 1952, then returned to the Ottawa Journal as a columnist and its sports editor until 1977.

Eddie MacCabe succeeded Bill Westwick as the sports editor, who had mentored him since 1952.

Eddie MacCabe was lured to the Ottawa Citizen in 1977, by its editor who offered more money to have better journalists.

Eddie MacCabe regularly reported on the Ottawa Rough Riders, travelled with the team, and was the link between the players and the community.

Eddie MacCabe covered the Grey Cup championship annually from 1947 onward, and often wrote about amateur golf and boxing, junior ice hockey and high school sports.

Colleagues of Eddie MacCabe knew him for storytelling in the newsroom.

Eddie MacCabe often retold a story of when United States president Dwight D Eisenhower golfed at the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club in 1959.

Eddie MacCabe joked that he once bribed a caddie to allow him to carry the golf bag for the president to get an exclusive interview, then after being noticed he was pinned to the ground with guns pointed at his head.

Eddie MacCabe claimed that when he covered the 1974 Summit Series in Moscow, he used the credit card of an oil company to visit and write about apartments and a factory in Moscow, despite a request from the Embassy of Canada in Moscow to confine his writing solely to hockey.

Luiza Chwialkowska wrote, "Eddie MacCabe gave the capital a glimpse into its own soul by writing columns and stories about Old Ottawa, bringing the street cars, the bars, the characters, the gangs, the boxing rings, the athletes, and their hangers-on to life".

Brown said that, Eddie MacCabe was friends with the people he wrote about but could be ruthless when necessary; and that Eddie MacCabe wrote about sports at a time when it had a closer connection to the community, and that he relied on the human touch in his writings.

Eddie MacCabe retired as sports editor of the Ottawa Citizen after a heart attack in 1985, then worked occasionally as a freelancer.

Eddie MacCabe served on the board of directors for the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame, the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, and the Quebec Golf Association.

Eddie MacCabe sat on the selection committees of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame and the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame.

Eddie MacCabe wrote history books for the 75th anniversary of the Ottawa Hunt and Golf Club, and the 25th anniversary of the Canada Games.

Eddie MacCabe wrote a biography of Russ Jackson, the quarterback of the Rough Riders from 1958 to 1969.

Eddie MacCabe wrote Christmas-themed short stories published annually in the Ottawa Journal and the Ottawa Citizen, one of which was televised in 1993.

Eddie MacCabe competed as an amateur boxer; and played ice hockey, golf, and the banjo.

Eddie MacCabe moved to Carleton Place when he retired in 1987.

Eddie MacCabe died on May 22,1998, at the Ottawa Civic Hospital, due to complications of surgery for colon cancer.

Later in life, Eddie MacCabe advocated for information on colon cancer to become more available to patients.

Eddie MacCabe received the Dow Award in 1960, a prize given by Dow Breweries to recognize the best sportswriter in Canadian football.

Eddie MacCabe was inducted into the Football Reporters of Canada section of the Canadian Football Hall of Fame in 1985.

When he was inducted into the builder category of the Ottawa Sport Hall of Fame in 1994, Eddie MacCabe estimated that he had written about or knew 90 per cent of the other 162 inductees.

Eddie MacCabe received a citation of merit from the Government of Canada for contributions to amateur sport, and was inducted into the Canadian Sportswriters Hall of Fame.